High school students from around the globe will gather at the Oregon State Capitol for the next 10 days to discuss environmental problems plaguing the planet.

From Japan, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Israel and Salem, About 90 students will bring unique experiences to the first ever International Youth Summit.

The event starts today and runs through Sept. 15.

For two South Salem High School teachers, this week will be the culmination of three years of hard work.

"The excitement level is building here at South(Salem High School)," science teacher and summit co-creator Molly Kellar said Friday.

International travelers were set to land in Portland on Saturday. For years, the students and teachers have been communicating via the Internet, discussing such issues as toxic waste, deforestation, urbanization and other environmental problems.

E-mail messages still were coming into Salem on Friday.

"The energy from kids coming across the seas is just tremendous," Kellar said.

Two internationally known environmentalists will speak to the group during the summit.

David Brower, 84, chairman of the Earth Island Institute and former Sierra Club leader, will lead off the summit with a Monday evening speech on sustainability and responsibility.

Brower will speak at 7:30 p.m. at Willamette University's Smith Auditorium at 900 State St., Salem.

He will be joined by James Quinn, president and CEO of Collins Pine Co. Environmental leaders have praised Collins Pine for its logging practices. The company won the 1996 Presidential Award for Sustainable Development.

During the week, students will listen to experts discuss various issues from an Oregon perspective.

The teens also will talk about possible solutions to environmental threats, and they will prepare a Declaration of Environmental rights and Responsibilities to present to their governments and the United Nations.

The conference will end with a final speech and gathering with Adam Werbach, the newly elected 24 year-old president of the Sierra Club.

Werbach will talk about his life of activism and his rise to power in the environmental movement at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Willamette's Smith Auditorium.

He will be joined by Laila Kaiser, NIKE's global environmental education manager.